Murrayfield A Celtic Cauldron!

Scottish rugby supporters are rising to the challenge of getting behind Edinburgh Rugby in the Celtic Cup final against Ulster at Murrayfield (2.30) with 12,000 tickets already sold

Scottish rugby supporters are rising to the challenge of gettingbehindEdinburgh Rugby in Saturday's Celtic Cup final against Ulster atMurrayfield (2.30) as advanced ticket sales have already topped the12,000mark.

Ulster as usual are travelling in force and are expected tobringaround 3,000 supporters with over 2,00 booked onto early morningferriesthrough the club's official partner Stena Line.

Keith Grainger Tournament Director of Celtic Rugby said: "WhilstToddBlackadder's team are going to have the majority of the crowd willingthemon in their bid to lift a first cross-border title for the Scottishgamethey won't have the singing all to themselves - these Ulstersupporters arebecoming legendary and if they make half as much noise as they did inthesemi-final at Glasgow, Edinburgh can forget about hearing the castle'scannon for an hour or two on Saturday .

"It all reminds me of the film Braveheart, as it seems like theCampbells,the McGregors and the MacKenzies have all heard a rallying call andtheyare uniting behind one Scottish cause,"

"A lot of people questioned the decision to play the Celtic Cup

final atMurrayfield, when the venue was first announced they declared theybelievedwe would get no bigger crowd than at a club venue - around 4,000.

"The advance sales have already trebled that estimate and, whenyou havethe passion of the Ulster supporters on the road and the sort ofbackingfrom the Scottish supporters that is evident now it makes it allratherenjoyable, with two teams in fantastic form, one of them Ulster ontop ofthe Celtic League and Edinburgh Rugby unbeaten in the Heineken Cupthisyear, we certainly have the prospect of a classic cup final.

"Particularly popular has been the offer of Family tickets forone adultand one child at #15 and two adults and two children at just #25,these arestill available and are on sale until Friday night. We've got allsortsgoing on for every age group; face painting, balloon modelling, athirtymetre toboggan run, pipe bands, brass bands, free mince pies and freemulled wine - it's set to be the best start to a family ChristmasEVER

The countdown is on to the Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23. Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens & Women's Rugby, previews what promises to be an exciting couple of days.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Jenny Murphy talks about the progress made by the Ireland Women's Sevens team and their pool draw for the upcoming Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Conor Murray and Tommy Bowe speak to Irish Rugby TV about their Rugby World Cup preparations and thank the thousands of supporters who came out to see the players at the open training session at the Sportsground.

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell gives his verdict on the team's new Rugby World Cup jersey and talks about his move to French club Toulon. Ireland's RWC 2015 range is available to pre-order now from http://shop.irishrugby.ie.

Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, talks about the target of a top three finish for both the Ireland Men and Women in Lisbon this weekend, as they continue on their quests for Olympic qualification.

Tom Daly, who recently captained the Ireland Men's Sevens team to the European Division C and B titles, is looking forward to playing in this weekend's Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ireland will host the 'Women's Sevens Dublin' at UCD on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23. Tournament director Garrett Tubridy and Ireland stars Lucy Mulhall, Jenny Murphy and Louise Galvin speak about their excitement ahead of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series qualifier.

Coach Allen Clarke and stand-in captain Billy Holland answer questions from the media following Emerging Ireland's 45-12 victory over Georgia in the final round of their successful Tbilisi Cup campaign.

Emerging Ireland coach Allen Clarke speaks about his side's five-try 33-7 win over Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup and the first half injury to captain Rhys Ruddock. They wrap up the tournament against hosts Georgia on Sunday.

Speaking about the floods that occurred following the Tbilisi Cup's first round, Emerging Ireland team manager Joey Miles said: "A natural event like that, a tragedy like that puts the game of rugby into perspective. We express our regrets to the Georgian people and the Georgian Union for the terrible tragedy that they had."

David O'Reilly from the IRFU Charitable Trust's Corporate Patrons Committee speaks about the new scheme which provides businesses with unique networking opportunities and provides a platform for companies to effectively activate their CSR programmes. For further information, please contact Linda Black of the Charitable Trust - telephone (01) 6473866 or email: linda.black@irfu.ie / http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/34728.php.